Antennas routinely include multiple antenna portions that are coupled together by transducers. The antenna portions generally collect energy associated with radiation from wireless signals received by an antenna. The antenna portions produce an associated current, and the transducer converts that current into a direct current (DC) voltage. The DC voltage can be measured or otherwise used by external components to perform various functions.
Conventional transducers typically include planar resistor loops, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a resistor loop 100 includes two generally co-planar conductive paths 102-104, each of which is typically coupled to a different portion of an antenna. The conductive paths 102-104 have a small overlapping area 106, where the different conductive paths 102-104 are electrically coupled to each other.
A problem with conventional resistor loop transducers (such as that shown in FIG. 1) is that they can suffer from significant inductive impedances at higher frequencies. This can be a problem, for example, at frequencies of several hundred gigahertz up into the terahertz range. The inductive impedance created in a conventional resistor loop transducer can reduce the efficiency of the transducer, negatively impacting operation of the antenna.